March 13 (SeeNews) - Slovenian employers reported cautiously optimistic hiring intentions for the second quarter of 2018, far below last years findings, recruitment company ManpowerGroup said on Tuesday.
Once the data is adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, the outlook stands at +9%, down 6 percentage points on the quarter, and 12 percentage points weaker on the year, ManpowerGroup said in its latest Employment Outlook Survey.
According to the survey, 15% of Slovenian employers expect to increase staffing levels, 0% expect a decrease and 81% of the 620 employers anticipate no change.
Hiring prospects are weaken in nine of the 10 industry sectors when compared with the previous quarter and this time one year ago, Manpower said. Meanwhile, public and social sector employers report no quarter-over-quarter change and a relative stability when compared with this time one year ago.
"Employers continue to have confidence in the local labour market and still expect a modest increase in staffing levels over the next three months. But the current outlook is definitely softer than the positive hiring sentiment expressed over the prior six quarters", Nebojsa Biskup, country manager Manpower Slovenia, is quote saying.
He explained that the uncertainty in the employer hiring confidence is due to changes in the economic and political sphere with the elections approaching, the vivid discussion regarding the recent increase of the minimum wage and the strikes of public sector employees going on.
The strongest hiring prospects are reported in two sectors with net employment outlooks of +16% – manufacturing and transport, storage and communication sector.
Respectable workforce gains are anticipated in the construction sector and the finance, insurance, real estate and business services sector with outlooks standing at +11%, while a moderate increase in payrolls is expected in two sectors with outlooks of +10% – the mining and quarrying sector and the public and social sector. Elsewhere, agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing sector employers report the weakest hiring intentions with a cautious outlook of +3%.
In terms of regional hiring, employers forecast an increase in staffing levels in all four regions during the forthcoming quarter, but considerably less than that seen in the previous quarter and a year ago.